Avalanche Fatality In LCC

[Tri-Ungulate]

Hazard has been pretty high after the last wierd storm, and with the warming trend today even more dicey. Many naturals ripping out, some 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide and the guns dropped Superior to the road during the storm. On the same day campers were learning about the two running layers extant in the pack, something very sad happening just a mile or so away. Friend of a friend os someone on this board, and hopefully not someone from the board.

http://tv.ksl.com/index.php?sid=138314&nid=5

Please be very very careful in the Wasatch bc until this cycle settles down.

[gramps]

Heard about this on the news. First fatality here this year I think, very sad. 22 years old too... I wonder if he was a U student. I sure hope it's not anyone we know. It sounds like it happened in grizzly gulch too, very heavily used area right next to the resort that I've been in plenty, and never worried much about avalanches while skiing/ascending through it. It really hits home that all steep terrain is potentially deadly in these conditions, even if it's in a non-threatening area like grizzly.

Here's the details I remember from the news report: Happened at dusk, party of two I think? They had beacons and shovels. Victim buried a foot deep, but it took 15-30 min to dig him out for some reason. Solitude patrol responded, and others as well I imagine. They said grizzly/twin lakes pass area, so maybe it was on the other side of the pass, and not in grizzly itself? This is all what I gathered from the network news so it could easily be inaccurate.

[Droopy]

praying its not a mag, and sending positive vibes to family and friends

[summit]

Very sad

[cj001f]

4 Avy Deaths this season . Be careful folks!

[ak_powder_monkey]

RIP

[powderwhore]

That sucks, but what were they thinking?

Didn't see anyone else heading up Cardiff or Flagstaff today, wonder why? Avi danger is off the charts right now! I set off two slabs inbounds on my first run yesterday.

[Trackhead]

A maggot was involved, but survived. Let's give him some time.

Sorry for your loss and the families loss.

[watersnowdirt]

So sad to hear that. Thoughts go out to his friends and family.

[Magoo]

Sorry to hear of this. Condolences to family and friends.

[truth]

Avalanche claims skier in Big Cottonwood Canyon

By Lisa Rosetta
The Salt Lake Tribune

An avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon minutes before 5 p.m. Friday killed a backcountry skier, the first avalanche death in Utah this winter.
The victim and a friend were skiing in Grizzly Gulch in the Twin Lakes Pass area when the slide began, burying one man in 2 to 3 feet of snow, said Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Robert Sampson. Both skiers were wearing avalanche beacons; it took the other man about five minutes to find his friend. He dug him out and called 911 on his cell phone.
"[The victim] wasn't breathing on his own," Sampson said.
The victim's friend and Solitude ski patrollers administered CPR until a helicopter landed in the upper parking area of the Solitude ski resort at about 6:20 p.m. The victim, 23, of Salt Lake County, was taken to LDS Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:52 p.m.
It was unclear Friday evening what caused the avalanche, or how far the victim was carried by it, Sampson said.
Friday morning, the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning for the northern Utah mountains and extreme southeast Idaho through midnight. Recent snow, strong winds and rapidly warming temperatures contributed to high avalanche danger, with avalanches occurring at unusually low elevations, according to the Forest Service's Web site.
"We've received a tremendous amount of snow and it's added a lot of weight to some very weak layers within the snowpack," said Craig Gordon, an avalanche forecaster for the Salt Lake City-based Avalanche Center. Add to the mix high winds, which create slabs, and "it's a great

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combination for increasing avalanches in the backcountry," he said.
"People without well-developed avalanche skills may want to think about skiing in the ski resorts," he said.
The fatal slide happened about two miles south of Solitude resort.
A resort employee confirmed the avalanche and directed the quick-response members of the ski patrol to the site. About 10 ski patrollers from Solitude used snowmobiles or skis to reach the site, said Marvin Sumner, director of the Solitude Ski Patrol.
About 10,000 avalanches occur each winter in Utah, and of these, people unintentionally trigger about 100. About 20 people get caught in the slides, on average, and four people die each year, according to the Avalanche Center's Web site.
Last year, three snowboarders were killed in a massive slide the day after Christmas in Provo Canyon. A fourth person, a snowshoer, was killed two months later in Daly Canyon near Park City.
lrosetta@sltrib.com
---
Salt Lake Tribune reporter Jason Bergreen contributed to this report.

[ulty_guy]

r.i.p.

please, please, be careful out there.

[gonzo]

RIP.

[Tippster]

RIP.

Maybe CPR training should be included in Avy training. If the guy had to wait for the 'trollers to administer, that's more precious seconds/minutes lost.

As selfish as this may sound, I hope it's not one of ours.

[shamrockpow]

It sucks every time to read this shit. Sorry for the kid's family/friends. RIP

[bagtagley]

Terrible news.

RIP

Edit: I don't think it can be said enough times. Please be careful out there.

[Telenater]

Two maggots involved in significant slides so far this winter. I can think of few groups more at risk than us. Please play it safe.

Best wishes to friends, family, and in particular the survivor.

[truth]

Maybe CPR training should be included in Avy training. If the guy had to wait for the 'trollers to administer, that's more precious seconds/minutes lost.

The victim's friend and Solitude ski patrollers administered CPR until a helicopter landed

Reading is elementary.

[skiguide]

oh god, this caught my eye in the SLC tribune, then I raced over here fearing it was a maggot - thoughts with whomever it was involved, and RIP to the friend.

[powderhound]

[Mrs Roo]

RIP

Take care, all.

[Xover]

A maggot was involved, but survived. Let's give him some time.

Whomever the maggot is, please accept my deepest condolences.

On a side note, I saw the slide today from Sorrydude at the Highway to Heaven Gate - you can get a very good view of it from there if interested.

[Free Range Lobster]

Damn.

Too many already this season....

Be safe guys.

[powstash]

Can't imagine what the family is feeling right now, nor our maggot friend involved.


powstash <------- proud owner and wearer of the Avalung.

[iskibc]

Damn! Had a weird feeling in my gut another maggot was involved when I first read the news blurb yesterday. Condolences out to the victim's family and the maggot involved.


RIP.